By Scott Brinton
The club will then ship the equipment to children in Iraq.
Club President Eric Schwartz said the club traditionally has done collections for underprivileged children at the Covanta Tournament through a program called Pass Back. Last year, the club collected for Haitian children.
The East Meadow Soccer Club takes in a number of children from throughout the Bellmores and Merricks.
This year, the club decided on Iraqi children because the father of a club member is now serving in the U.S. military in Iraq, and the father, who did not wish to be identified for security reasons, said the children there have virtually nothing. They lack much of the equipment that American children have to plays soccer. Still, they can be found on dusty, bombed-out streets, kicking soccer balls around in rags. American soldiers give soccer equipment to the children to help build friendships with the Iraqis.
The club will be collecting at the following fields: Mitchel Athletic Complex, Bethpage Polo Fields, Long Island Junior Soccer League's Soccer Park, Eisenhower Park, the Field of Dreams, Stillwell Fields, Meadowbrook Elementary School, Cuomo Fields, Speno Park and Salibury Park.
